Researchers at Chinese universities and think-tanks have called on the government to use economic sanctions to cripple Taiwan's economy in a bid to snuff out moves towards independence, state media said yesterday.
The China Daily quoted Xu Bodong, director of the Institute of Taiwan Studies at Beijing Union University, as saying that "severe punishment" should be used to stop a Taiwanese break with China.
"It is high time that we should mobilize all resources, including economic measures, to crack down on pro-independence forces," Xu said.
He added that many Chinese researchers wanted to see tougher action.
The political leanings of Taiwanese doing business in China were brought into question last month when the founder of one of the largest plastics groups was attacked in the People's Daily for his close ties with President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
Beijing has previously said that businessmen who support independence were not welcome in China.
But as cross-strait relations have plummeted in recent months, largely on the back of China's response to Chen's campaign for re-election, economic ties have continued to grow.
The report noted that Taiwanese investors have so far funded more than 70,000 projects in China, with contracted investment of more than US$80 billion .
It said that China, together with Hong Kong, bought 34.5 percent of Taiwanese exports last year, becoming Taiwan's biggest export market.
The newspaper quoted a report by Wang Jianmin, a researcher with the Institute of Taiwan Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, who said that an economic blockadewould lead to paralysis within two months.
"If the mainland decided to impose an economic sanction against Taiwan such as limiting or even banning imports from the island, Taiwan's overseas trade sector would be the first to suffer and see a one-third drop in its exports," Wang said.
"Then the manufacturing and production sector would be hit causing mass shutdowns among these firms and a major economic recession," he said.
China's Vice Commerce Minister Ma Xiuhong (馬秀紅) said last week that the rights of Taiwanese investors would be protected, even as the government remained "firmly opposed" to those seeking to do business here while pushing for independence.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
MORE NEEDED: Recall drives against legislators in Miaoli’s two districts and Hsinchu’s second district were still a few thousand signatures short of the second-stage threshold Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once. Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘). A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said. “Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach
RSS